{"id":84050,"date":"2018-11-20T15:56:52","date_gmt":"2018-11-20T21:56:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/?p=84050"},"modified":"2018-11-27T09:46:11","modified_gmt":"2018-11-27T15:46:11","slug":"thomas-werfel-joins-biomedical-engineering-faculty","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/thomas-werfel-joins-biomedical-engineering-faculty\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Werfel Joins Biomedical Engineering Faculty"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Thomas A. Werfel is an assistant professor in the University of Mississippi’s new biomedical engineering program. Submitted photo<\/p><\/div>\n

Recognizing it as a \u201conce-in-a-lifetime\u201d opportunity to be involved with something \u201cvery special,\u201d Thomas Werfel has joined the faculty of the newly launched biomedical engineering program<\/a> at the University of Mississippi.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was excited to come here and help build the new program in biomedical engineering because I can\u2019t imagine anything more rewarding than looking back 30 years from now and being able to reflect on the immense impact this program will have for students, industry partners and the University of Mississippi,\u201d said the new assistant professor of chemical engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was also drawn to the University of Mississippi because of the university\u2019s emphasis on strong undergraduate education and reputation as a liberal arts college. I think studying engineering at a liberal arts institution generates a unique student compared to graduates from engineering and technology schools.\u201d<\/p>\n

Werfel said he wants his students to excel in reading, writing, communication and creativity.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am convinced that those who do so will differentiate themselves from their peers and find rapid career advancement,\u201d he said. \u201cThus, I felt that the strengths of UM aligned well with my teaching philosophy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Werfel is a welcome addition to the biomedical engineering program, said John O\u2019Haver, chair and professor of chemical engineering.<\/p>\n

\u201cDr. Werfel brings some exciting research, which dovetails nicely with that done by Dr. Adam Smith (associate professor of chemical engineering),\u201d O\u2019Haver said. \u201cTheir collaborations should prove very productive and raise the national visibility of them both.\u201d<\/p>\n

Werfel teaches Biomaterials, Immunoengineering, and Drug and Gene Delivery. He said he hopes to develop more electives for upperclassmen and graduate students over the next few years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI perceived that my research program would benefit by synergizing with existing strengths here in the School of Pharmacy<\/a>, departments of Biology<\/a>, Chemistry<\/a> and Chemical Engineering<\/a>, the National Center for Physical Acoustics<\/a> and the University of Mississippi Medical Center<\/a>,\u201d Werfel said, adding that his experience at UM has been excellent so far.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe staff here are (second) to none and have been so helpful for helping me get oriented,\u201d he said. \u201cThe other faculty are very welcoming and collegial. The students are positive and hardworking. And there are ample opportunities to collaborate in research.\u201d<\/p>\n

Werfel said his short-term goals are to make his research lab fully functional, recruit graduate students, secure independent research funding, develop the courses mentioned above, and identify opportunities to serve at UM, in Oxford and with professional organizations.<\/p>\n

His long-term goals are to maintain an independently funded, highly active research lab, publish primary research articles in highly visible journals, teach exciting and interactive courses, contribute to the growth of the biomedical engineering program and become a leader at UM.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have created a career development plan that focuses on growth in teaching, research, service and leadership to achieve my short- and long-term goals,\u201d Werfel said. \u201cThrough my career development plan, I identified where I want to be five years from now and created a ‘roadmap’ to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Werfel said a fulfilling professional achievement was being awarded an F32 Postdoctoral Fellowship from the National Institutes of Health on his first try.<\/p>\n

\u201cReceiving the award was really a culmination of all the hard work I put in as a graduate student and was a strong validation that pursuing a career in research and academics was the right choice for me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Werfel earned his bachelor\u2019s degree in physics from Murray State University and a master\u2019s degree and Ph.D. in biomedical engineering, both from Vanderbilt University. He and his wife, Ashton, have a daughter, Finley Beth. The family loves to spend time exploring the Square, playing in Avent Park or having a picnic in the Grove.<\/p>\n

\u201cI spend a lot of time cooking,\u201d Werfel said. \u201cI also love to be outdoors, whether it be walking, hiking, camping or gardening.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recognizing it as a \u201conce-in-a-lifetime\u201d opportunity to be involved with something \u201cvery special,\u201d Thomas Werfel has joined the faculty of the newly launched biomedical engineering program at the University of Mississippi. \u201cI was excited to come here and help build the new program in biomedical engineering because I can\u2019t imagine anything more rewarding than lookingRead the story …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1370,178],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nThomas Werfel Joins Biomedical Engineering Faculty - Ole Miss News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/thomas-werfel-joins-biomedical-engineering-faculty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thomas Werfel Joins Biomedical Engineering Faculty - Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recognizing it as a \u201conce-in-a-lifetime\u201d opportunity to be involved with something \u201cvery special,\u201d Thomas Werfel has joined the faculty of the newly launched biomedical engineering program at the University of Mississippi. \u201cI was excited to come here and help build the new program in biomedical engineering because I can\u2019t imagine anything more rewarding than lookingRead the story …\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/thomas-werfel-joins-biomedical-engineering-faculty\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ole Miss News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-11-20T21:56:52+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-11-27T15:46:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Thomas-Werfel-2048x1150.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OleMissRebels\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/\",\"name\":\"Ole Miss News\",\"description\":\"The official source for University of Mississippi news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/thomas-werfel-joins-biomedical-engineering-faculty\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/web20.olemiss.edu\/news\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/Thomas-Werfel-2048x1150.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/thomas-werfel-joins-biomedical-engineering-faculty\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/news.olemiss.edu\/thomas-werfel-joins-biomedical-engineering-faculty\/\",\"name\":\"Thomas Werfel Joins Biomedical Engineering Faculty - 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